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Ok, so the wife and I are heading to Vermont for a couple of days for some R and R. I am going to take along my fly rod "just in case". I have a 6 and a 8 wt. Even though the 6 is probably too much, would one of the tapered leaders do? If so what sort of size should I be looking at? Any ideas what type of flies to bring along for this time of year? I have a couple of caddis and stone flies. Do wooly buggers work too?
Can't wait! The B & B lies right on the Little River and the Wisnooski is nearby.
BA

BA,

Yeah your 6wt will probably be overkill, but the Winooski has lots of 14" bows. Here are a couple links with fishing/hatch reports

http://www.pleasantvalleyflyfishing.com ... report.htm
http://www.digitalfrontier.com/sites/gr ... index.html

...And yes the dark woolybuggers, double bunnies, leaches, etc work for the big browns in the late evenings when they are on the hunt.

As for leaders, for the dries you're probably looking at a 9' 3x which you can step down with a lighter tippet as required. If you're nymping you can simply get away with simply using 8lb mono (length as required) with a length of tippet added.

Check out Ganman's July 12th report on his trip to VT.

Having said that, a 6-wt is a bit of overkill, but it's more fun than no flyrod at all!

I have fished the Winooski several times. The #6 is fine, it's a good size trout stream, easily bigger than the Rideau at Britannia. Except for this year everytime I've fished the Winooski it has been warm as it will be for you but don't let that deter you. I've done better when the water was warm and low than when conditions were perfect...go figure.

Far and away most fish this time of the year I caught on a dry fly that I call a Summer Haystack. It's a cream/yellow fly #14 hook but likely something like a Light Cahill or yellow Humpy would work as well.

The Little River is an outlet for Waterbury Lake. They have been working on the dam and the lake is very low so I think the water is warm and cloudy. In fact everytime I've tried to fish the Little River it has been too off colour.

A good place to start on the Winooski is right in Waterbury, take a right just after the junction with 100 by the ballfield it will take you to an iron bridge crossing the Winooski. It's a community hole but there is a beautiful riffle on the left that usually holds many rainbows. On the north side of the riffle behind a little island is an oxbow with a high clay bank that has a spring hole at its base. The water there will be very shallow but with this warm weather there might be some big browns in there. If they are and you look close you can see them. They are skittish and very hard to catch so good luck if you try for them.

If you want to fish a smaller river try the Mad River. It's south of Waterbury. It will be quite a bit cooler than the Winooski. There is a fly shop (The Fly Rod Shop) up Rt 100 a mile or so before you get to Stowe. You can get a license there.

Cheers Ganman! I am looking forward to it. I have no real expectations since it will be my first crack at trout ever on the fly. Will try my hand and see how it goes.
BA

BA,

If you have a chance pop by Sports Action and pick up a few 13-As if they still have any left. We had pretty good luck with them last year in NY when the the fishing was tough. Just dead drift them, with a lift at the end of the drift.

Cheers,

One more question to anyone out there...do I need waders? Is it cold in these waters this time of year?
Thanks.
BA

BA,

Here's another link to current river conditions, hatches and water temps. You make the call. LOL

http://www.streamandbrook.com/river_report.html

You'll be okay without waders...in fact I recommend it. The water will be pushing 70F if not over it in the early evening. This way you can find cold pockets and springs. Most of the Winooski is very easy to wade and you can get away without felts too.

I cannot think of a better stream for someone new to this. Lot's of room, nice gentle flows, easy to wade and lot's of cooperative little rainbows.

last words of advice...obviously fish early morning or evening. Concentrate on the riffles especially in the AM. Only fish those deep slow pools if there is a hatch but even then I'd stick to the riffles. The easiest way to fish them is down and across. Start at the top of the riffle. Put on a nymph or wet fly, cast quartering the current and let it swing. Try varying the angle too, like casting straight across. Take a couple steps downstream and do it again until you cover the whole riffle. Usually I'll then switch to a dry and work back upstream. Don't use a ton of weight, you don't need to get your nymph right down on bottom this time of the year.

A 9' 4x or 5x leader is what you need and sz 12, 14 wets nymphs and 14, 16 dries.

Well I did it...I caught my first trout on the fly. Not really too sure what species are which, it turns out the trout that I caught (2 trout about 8") are browns. I caught them jsut behind our bed and breakfast in Stowe. Beautiful specimens. Great colours and for little fish they fight like hell. Don't like being held it seems either. I drove into the Fly Rod Shop at the edge of town and asked the owner where I could go and take my wife (7months pregnant) to fish. She told me about a little spot just around the corner. Talk about a back woods middle of nowhere, old logging road type of place. Great little swimming hole. Within minutes I was gettting the "thwoop" sounds of fish rising to take my cahill fly. Awesome sound and scene. Only caught one fish there before the sand fleas and bugs got bad ~ about 30 minutes before the wife got fed up with the bugs. Turns out the fish I caught was a salmon!! Great little scrapper and lots of fun on the fly. If anyone is heading to Stowe, be sure to check out this spot. I didn;t have a chance to explore but looks like a great spot.
I can see why this trout fishing can be addictive. I had a great time learning how to avoid drifting the fly and creating disturbances by my position and casting position etc.
Great fun.
BA

Directions (for future reference)
Headed out of Stowe towards Ben and Jerry's on 100. Right near the Fly Rod shop on the town side is Moscow Rd. Take that out to Corner Brook Rd and go down about a mile. On the left you will see a road that takes you through a hay field. Follow it down to a parking area. Walk on out from there ~ 200 yds.
BA

I was in Vermont during the first week of August. The weather was very hot, hence the Winooski was not very productive. With all the rain, the Winooski water level was very high below the dam, but the water tempurature was still very high. However, the little mountain streams where very productive. I fished the little stream in Stowe one morning and landed 5 small brookies and one 12" brown in just a couple of hours.